The Simplest Mistake
by caitlynmary
Summary: What if Booth and Hannah were still together when Vincent Nigel Murray was shot, but was away for a story? How will this affect Booth and Bones? And how will this affect the rest of the Jeffersonian team?
1. Permanent

**Summary**: What if Booth and Hannah were still together when Vincent Nigel Murray was shot, but was away for a story? How will this affect Booth and Bones? And how will this affect the rest of the Jeffersonian team?

**Author's Note**: Each chapter will start with a verse from a song that I think is appropriate and end with another verse from the same song. I literally sit in my room and think about different scenarios of Bones to try and get out of my school work. I'd like this to be a one-shot but by the storyline I'm sure I'll have no choice but to continue. So in that case, bear with me because the semester is almost over and I have a decent amount of school work to complete. Once school is done for the winter I'll have a lot more time to complete and post chapters. Let me know what you think. You can even tell me if it sucks. So here it goes. Thank you. I love you. You're all great people.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bones, nor do I believe that I do. All the characters are those of the creator. This is simply a change in plot from the original show and storyline.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Is this the moment where I look you in the eye?<br>Forgive my broken promise that you'll never see me cry."**_

"_I got into bed with Booth last night." Brennan said looking at Angela before glancing back at the skull in her hands. _

_She looked up to find Angela, wide eyed, with her jaw almost touching the floor._

"_Why aren't you saying anything?" Brennan asked._

"_Because, I don't want to yell 'Hallelujah' so close to losing Vincent."_

"_I think I did it because of Vincent."_

"_Wait. Whoa. What exactly happened after you crawled into bed with Booth?"_

_The look on Brennan's face told Angela exactly what happened after she got into Booth's bed last night. 'This is so great.' Thought Angela. 'This is what we have been waiting for.' Oh shit. Booth. Brennan. Hannah. Booth's girlfriend. The girlfriend that Booth claims to love. _

"So what happens now?" Angela asked, watching as her best friend fiddled with the skull.

"I'm not quite sure." Brennan answered. She placed the skull firmly down on the table before looking back up at Angela. "Booth has Hannah. We were emotional. We let our emotions take over. That is something I would have never done before."

"Before what sweetie?"

"Before I realized that I was in love with Booth. I would have never acted this irrational." Temperance looked up at Angela with tears in her eyes. "I should have respected Booth's decision to stay with Hannah. He loves her. I was upset, I acted irrationally, and I took advantage of Booth."

"Brennan, you were both upset. You both lost Vincent. You can't blame yourself. Booth would have stopped it if he didn't want it."

"It shouldn't have happened. It was a mistake. I'm sorry, Angela, I need to go." She said as she walked out of the bone room. She headed straight for her office, the tears threatening to stream down her face. She sat in her office chair and finally let the tears fall. She hated to cry. She never let her emotions get the best of her. The amount of leucine-encephalin that was being released from her body during that small time was the most that has been released from her body ever, as crying was not something she let herself do.

* * *

><p>Brennan was relieved to hear that Booth was safe. He had caught Broadsky. He was now safely back at the Hoover with Broadsky in custody, unharmed. Brennan checked the time before she got out of her chair, she grabbed her coat and she walked out of her office. She needed to take her mind off of Booth. She wanted to get something special for Vincent. Flowers. The traditional symbol of remembrance. She walked down the sidewalk, feeling the cold air hit her previously tear stained face. She reached the florist and entered, searching for the perfect flower to remember Vincent. Once she found the ideal flower, she took it to the register and paid. As she exited the florist shop, she couldn't help but think about her current situation. She should have never developed feelings for someone she worked with. She always did her best not to develop feelings. Booth promised that he would never leave her. Something told her that this would not be a proper representation of this time. Booth loved Hannah. He told her that himself. And in the event that he had to choose, she knew that she would not be the top priority.<p>

That was something she had to accept, something that she had to get over. She was used to it. She was used to being alone. And now it was time to face reality. They had made a mistake. She had made a mistake. And now she had to face reality. She approached the alley behind the Jeffersonian. She would be meeting the rest of the team to send of Vincent's remains. The rest of the team would be there, including Booth. She walked down the alley to see the hearse waiting to be loaded. Angela, Hodgins, Cam, Sweets, and Booth were waiting behind the hearse, probably waiting for Brennan. She walked up to them slowly holding the potted plant. She placed it on top of the wooden box holding Vincent's remains. She backed up and crossed her arms across her chest, not taking her eyes off the box.

She liked Vincent. In her time at the Jeffersonian she has never once had any sort of personal relationship with an intern. They were there to simply aid her while she was to teach them everything she knew. Vincent was different. He scared the same common interests that she did, while also sharing the same sense of humor. She considered him one of her friends. And now that friend was gone. Boy was she on a roll. Booth, Vincent, probably Hannah. At least she would always have Angela.

She heard her friends start to sing. Da Lime in Da Coconut. Vincent's favorite song. What a better way to remember him than to sing his favorite song? She joined in singing with the rest of the team. It made her smile. They collectively loaded Vincent's body in the back of the hearse before Booth closed the door. Brennan backed up to the spot where she was originally standing. She recrossed her arms over her chest and stared ahead. She watched out of the corner of her eye as her friends walked back inside the Jeffersonian. She noticed that Booth was following behind them. Booth, noticing that Bones wasn't moving, stopped dead in his tracks.

"You coming Bones?" He said to her. This was the first time they had spoken since leaving his apartment this morning.

She looked up at him when she heard him say her nickname. "I think I need a minute."

"Would you like to be alone or could I stay?" He asked walking towards her.

"I suppose you could stay." She put her hands into her jacket pocket.

He stood next to her. He looked over at her face to try and read her expression. Temperance Brennan sure knew how to put up her walls. She put up the walls around her heart and immediately shut everyone out. These walls were coming right back up. Booth knew it was because of what happened. They both got lost in each other. It was a time of need. A wonderful time of need. But he had forgotten the reason that he had turned her down before. Hannah. He had Hannah. She was away reporting a headlining story and Booth was home sleeping with another woman. Their friend. Both of their best friend.

"Bones? I think we should maybe talk."

"Talk about what?" She said not looking towards him.

"You know what."

"Booth, if you are referring to what happened last night, it is okay. I have pushed aside all feelings and forgotten that it has happened."

"Bones, what happened, it was amazing. Something that has been waiting to happen for years. But right now is not the right time. Hannah and I, we're engaged. We're supposed to get married."

"I understand. She wants to marry you, you want to marry her. I've told you numerous times before that I am not planning to get married. You are going to marry her because that is exactly what you want for the future. I understand." She started to feel her lacrimal glands overreacting. She was about to cry. She was not going to cry in front of Booth, not again. "If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." She walked took her hands out of her pocket and pushed past Booth, making her way towards the back door to the Jeffersonian.

Booth stood there in shock. Yes, he was planning on marrying Hannah. But he did not expect Bones to react the way she did. He saw her starting to get upset. He saw her feelings coming through the walls she had put up. He also saw her brain register that she was getting upset, switching on the part of her brain that that told her to walk away, to escape before it was too late. He hated that he made her upset. He should have protected her. He should have told her no. They were both upset. They needed each other. Booth had always needed her, before he found Hannah. He needed to move on. Sleeping with Bones was probably not the best way to do it but now it is done. It happened. It is over and done with and things cannot be changed. He hurt her. After everything they had been through, all he had to do was tell her no. But it had been something that they both wanted for so long. And now it was going to change their relationship. Most likely for the worst.

* * *

><p>Temperance Brennan closed up her office and put her coat on. It was time to go home. She had taken a few days off for vacation in order to grieve the loss of Vincent. This was not like any "normal" vacation. She wasn't going anywhere. She was staying at her apartment, hoping that she could take some time to think about things. Thinking about her life wasn't something she normally did, but at this time in her life she really needed some evaluation. If she had never let herself get so close to Booth, she would not be in this situation today. He promised her he would never leave. That's where he got her. He played with her mind. Brennan in no way thought Booth was doing this to hurt her. She knew that he would never intentionally hurt her, just like her parents never intentionally hurt her, but she knew that it was happening. She knew that she let her walls down, something she swore she would never do. She knew that was nobody's fault except for her own. She reached her apartment, unlocking the front door, tossing her keys on the small end table situated by the door, and placing her purse on the same table. She locked the door behind her and stood in the foyer looking around. She had never been on vacation before. She did not know the proper exercises in which she should perform. She prepared herself a small meal so she did not lose the necessary nutrients to function as a human being. She finished her meal and then retreated to the bedroom for the night.<p>

She knew she and Booth both knew she has never intended to get married. Any relationship she has had was merely for the benefit of sexual intercourse. Booth was different. She assumed it was because of the previous friendship that she shared with Booth. She still never intended on marrying, however, she could possibly see herself having more than a sexual relationship with Booth. This was the reasoning behind her changing her mind the night of the doctor's murder discovery. She didn't want to have any regrets. That had been what she told Booth. But he shot her down, claiming that he loved Hannah. He must have loved Hannah, for he was now marrying her. She had made a mistake. She had gotten in the middle of Booth's happy relationship. She laid in her bed with her head on her pillow as tears streamed down her face. And for the second time that day she allowed herself to cry.

Booth returned to his apartment for the night. For now he was alone, but from what he could remember Hannah would be home from her story soon. By soon, he had told himself that she would be back tomorrow, giving himself no time to fix the problems that had occurred between him and Bones. She said she had already forgotten that it had happened but something in Booth could not push that memory out of his mind. For years he had been wishing that one day him and Bones would have something. For years. And now that something has happened and he doesn't have room in his life for it. He made the decision to move on from Bones. He needed to move on from her. It helped him cope with the fact that she would never be ready for anything but a friendship with him. Months ago she had made the decision that she did not want to have regrets, which meant that she was ready to change. She was ready to start a relationship with him while he was in the middle of pursuing a relationship with someone else. He thought about telling her that he was ecstatic, that he couldn't wait to start their new chapter. Then he remembered the reason that he had distanced himself in the first place. He needed to move on. He had moved on and found Hannah. He was not willing to ruin his relationship with Hannah for a relationship that is unstable and might not work. The only logical thing Booth could think to do at this moment was to forget that any of this had ever happened. He would distance himself from Bones for good. Yes, he would still require her skills in helping him find the murder, but they would no longer go in the field together. They would no longer have any relationship that extended outside of the work force. That was for the best.

"**_Will you think that you're all alone when no one's there to hold your hand?  
>And all you know seems so far away and everything is temporary…"<em>**

**_-Permanent, David Cook._**


	2. More Like Her

**Author's Note**: Here's the next chapter. I apologize ahead of time if it is not up to par. I've tried my best. I also apologize greatly for making you all wait. I'm so busy that sometimes I just crawl into my bed and sleep. College. If you haven't gotten there yet, you'll soon figure it out.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bones, nor do I believe that I do. All the characters are those of the creator. This is simply a change in plot from the original show and storyline.

_**"She's beautiful in her simple little way  
>She don't have too much to say when she gets mad<br>She understands she don't let go of anything  
>Even when the pain gets really bad.<br>I guess I should've been more like that."**_

It had been two days since Temperance Brennan had seen or heard from Seeley Booth. Hannah was back. She had contacted her once, leaving her a message that they had to get together as soon as time would allow. She knew, in order to keep Hannah as a friend, she would have to swallow her pride and meet up with her. The thought of spending time with Hannah after everything had happened scared her. She did not know how to properly act around someone whose fiancé she had just had intercourse with. She would have to talk to Angela. She would need proper training in confronting Hannah. Booth had not called her in days. She suspected that there were still murders to solve, but that Booth would not be requiring her assistance for some time. The Jeffersonian team had received remains to identify and cases to solve, but Booth had not specifically asked for her help. She felt hurt, upset, and many other emotions that she had only felt once before. Abandoned. That had been the most intense feeling she had been experiencing. She was skilled to cope with this feeling and pushed it away like it had been nothing. She still felt abandoned nonetheless.

Brennan had entered the Jeffersonian Institute at her scheduled time, beginning a new day of work. She walked past the forensic platform where Hodgins and the various interns were working on a case. Probably one that had been recently provided by Booth and the FBI. Any forensic anthropology work that needed to be done was either directed to her or Clark. When she identified remains or examined bones for any distinct marks, she hadn't been asking many questions. She had worked one case since the incident with Booth. She identified the remains of a young girl, found raped and murdered in a park. She had simply identified the remains and verified the sketch that Angela provided based on bone structure. It was evident that her days of interrogation and field work had come to an end.

She placed her bag down behind her desk and started up her computer in order to get ready for the day. She put her blue lab coat on before exiting her office. She walked towards Angela's office in order to get her top priority accomplished. Before she made a date with Hannah, she had to be fully prepared to engage in normal conversation and activities without feeling the guilt that is Seeley Booth. She assumed Booth would never tell Hannah what had happened while she was away, coming to the conclusion that she too would hide this information from the reporter. She reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number of the person she knew would have all of the answers.

"Hey Sweetie." She said taking a deep breath.

"Angela? Do you have a minute?"

"Hey Bren, of course. What's up?"

"I need to discuss something with you. I guess you might say that I need advice."

"Well, I am your go too girl for advice, being your best friend and all. What exactly do you need advice about?"

"I need to know the proper etiquette needed to interact with Hannah."

"Interact with Hannah, huh? So you're still going to be friends with her?"

Brennan looked up from her desk towards the door, "Of course I am going to remain friends with her. She did not do anything to me that would require our friendship to end. I betrayed her. I would like to remain friends with her without her knowing about what happened with Booth. He obviously has not said anything as she is still contacting me so I believe that it is best that I go on like nothing happened."

Angela thought about how Brennan's face looked at this exact moment.. She knew she had been acting different lately. Everyone could tell but nobody had the guts to say anything. Angela was the only one who knew the exact details about what happened between Temperance and Booth. Everyone else just figured they had a falling out that would eventually fix itself. Angela reassured the team that they would not be seeing as much of Seeley Booth as they had been seeing in the past. "I think you should act just as you would any other time. If you were working on a case, you would not discuss things with Hannah that were concerning the case. Just try not to discuss things with Hannah that she doesn't need to know. She doesn't know anything about you and Booth and if he has decided not to tell her than there's no reason that you should tell her. It happened Bren, it's something you cannot change. The only thing you can do is to move on. Act as if nothing happened. Just go on with Hannah like you would if you hadn't slept with Booth."

"I'm afraid that I will lead her to believe that something happened between Booth and I and she will no longer want to remain friends with me."

"Bren, if you just act like yourself she won't suspect a thing. You can't psych yourself out. You just have to go for it. It might be strange the first time and you might not know how to act. But it will get better. You'll see. You just have to make that leap." Angela took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

"What do I do if she says something about it? What if I get there and she just knows?"

"You're really over thinking this Brennan. She has no idea what went on if she's trying to contact you. Trust me on this one." She sucked in another deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Angela are you alright? You sound in distress." Temperance said with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm okay right this second. But I think I might be having contractions."

"Contractions? Did your water break? Did you call Hodgins?" Brennan stood up from her desk and walked towards the door.

"They just started. I don't think my water broke yet. Although I did get a shower this morning so I'm not exactly sure. I haven't gotten the chance to call Jack."

"I'm on my way to his office right now. He should be there shortly to pick you up and take you to the hospital."

"Can you make sure he doesn't freak out? He's been freaking at any instance of me having this baby and I don't need him to wreck on his way over here."

"I'll make sure I tell him casually and that you're alright."

"Thanks Bren."

"Anytime Ange, thank you as well." She said as she hung up her phone and placed it in her coat pocket. She headed down the hall into the lab area where Hodgins was working. She approached him slowly and tapped on his shoulder.

"Dr. Hodgins, can I speak with you for a minute?"

Hodgins put down the piece of plant he was observing and turned towards her. "Sure Dr. B, what can I do for you?"

"I just got off the phone with Angela. It seems that she is having minor contractions that have just started. She needs you to come home and take her to the hospital."

Hodgins jumped out of his seat. "It's time?! Why didn't she call me? Why wouldn't she call me?"

"I spoke to her just minutes ago and she claimed the contractions have just started and she didn't have the chance to call you yet. But I would advise you not to worry. She will not be having the baby right this second, nor will she be having it when you arrive home. Calm down. Take a breath and go home. She needs you to make it home alive. Go home, take her to the hospital, and keep me updated."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Thanks Dr. B. I'll let you know when it's almost time."

Temperance nodded and turned around. She walked out the door and into her office. She grabbed her lab coat and headed to LIMBO to find some remains to work on. She needed a distraction before she talked to Hannah.

Hannah placed her phone down on the table in front of her after attempting to contact Temperance once again. She stared at her phone completely at a loss for words. They were friends, or so she thought. She had no explanation as to why Temperance would not answer the phone or return her phone call for that matter. Last they spoke they were fine. She left to work on her story but barely had contact with anyone so it was not like she was purposely not contacting Temperance. She didn't think Booth had spoken to her either now that she was thinking about it. There had only been one time when she and Temperance had gotten into a small fight and that had been when she found out Temperance told Booth she had feelings for him. Now Booth wasn't speaking to Temperance, and she would not answer the phone when she called. Hannah wondered what was going on. Had Temperance gone on another dig? Surely Booth would have mentioned it. She got off the bed and walked into the living room where Booth was sitting on the couch. He was facing the TV and watching a hockey game. Hannah sat on the couch next to him.

"Seeley?" She said looking over at him.

He turned his head to face her, "Yes?"

"Have you talked to Temperance lately?"

"Uhh, Bones? No." Booth said focusing his attention back to the TV.

"Any specific reason?"

"We've both just been busy. She's starting to identify more unknown remains, and my cases haven't involved sets of bones."

"But what about your friendship? Besides work, you and Temperance have a friendship…" Hannah went on, confused.

"I guess we just aren't as close as we used to be." Booth said not taking his eyes off the television.

Hannah was confused. She knew that things had been different ever since Temperance had revealed her feelings for Seeley. However, since the confession, they had seemed to somewhat go back to their friendship. She knew things weren't exactly the same. They stopped going out to dinner and for drinks after cases unless Hannah was there too. She knew they didn't seem to have a friendship that didn't include Hannah. There was never a time when Hannah had felt threatened by Temperance and her relationship with Seeley. Not once did she think Seeley had feelings for Temperance since they had been together. Their relationship in her eyes was simply friendship and partnership.

"Would you be offended if I continued my friendship with Temperance? After all, I don't have that many girl friends around here. Temperance and I have a pretty close relationship." Hannah asked.

"Not at all. I wouldn't be offended." He said glancing at her.

"Okay. Thank you Seeley."

Booth turned to her and smiled. "Hannah, you don't have to ask permission to be friends with someone. Just because Bones and I aren't what we used to be doesn't mean anything has to change between you and her."

Hannah smiled. "I love you, you know that? I can't wait to marry you."

Booth leaned in and kissed her. "I love you too. And I promise that we will start planning the wedding soon. There's a few cases at work I need to close up so I can dedicate all of my time to it."

"I understand. Whenever you're ready." Hannah leaned into him and turned her attention to the TV, watching the game with Booth. She couldn't be happier.

Temperance laid in her bedShe needed to call Hannah before she started to suspect things. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew she had to do this. She opened her eyes and picked up her phone. She scrolled through her contacts until she landed on the one she was looking for. Hannah Burley. She tapped on the name and watched as the phone started to ring.

Hannah was sitting on the couch next to Seeley when she heard her phone ringing in the bedroom. She got up off of the couch and walked into the bedroom. She picked up her phone to see that Temperance was finally returning her phone call. She took a seat on the bed before sliding the bar to answer the call.

"Hello?" Hannah said cautiously into the phone.

"Hannah. Hi."

"Temperance. How are you?"

"I'm doing well. Listen, I wanted to apologize for not returning your calls. I've been very busy at work and exhausted at the end of the day." Brennan said to her slowly so she didn't sound like she was lying.

"Oh, no worries. I just wanted to let you know that I was back from my trip. I thought maybe we could get together sometime and catch up. Maybe get dinner or drinks sometime?" Hannah suggested.

"Sure. That would be nice. How about I give you a call tomorrow in the afternoon and let you know if I'm available after work? I'm not positive on how long I'll be at the Jeffersonian tomorrow, but I can let you know well in advance?" Brennan suggested.

"That's great. I'll wait for your call. Thanks for calling."

"Again, I apologize for not returning your calls sooner. See you possibly tomorrow."

"It's no big deal. Don't worry about it. See you then."

Temperance hit the end call button and placed her phone next to her. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulder, as Booth would say. She figured that by the way she had put on an act, Hannah had not suspected a thing. Now that the phone call was over and done with, she started to think about how dinner and drinks would be. She hoped that she would be able to put on the act well enough for Hannah to believe that nothing was going on between her and Booth.

As Brennan lay in her bed, she thought about what Hannah and Booth were doing. They were probably lying in bed just as Temperance was. It was getting late and they all had work in the morning. She looked to the left of her and stared at the empty spot in her queen bed. She wished more than anything that she could share such a large bed with Booth. Her thoughts took her back to that night. At Booth's apartment she had slept on the left hand side of the bed instead of the right. The right had always been her favorite, but when Booth had taken the right side of the bed, she had no choice but to lay on the left side. Because she had been fully sober, she remembered every single fact about that night. She remembered what she was wearing, Booth's borrowed clothing. She remembered how Booth held her after they made love.

_She placed her head on Booth's chest and wrapped her left arm around his torso. He instinctively wrapped his right arm around her body and ran his hand up and down her back. He placed a kiss on the side of her head before bringing his hand up and running it through her hair. He held on to her like he never wanted to let her go. _

"_Booth?" Temperance asked, not moving her head from his chest._

"_Bones?" He asked with his eyes closed._

"_Thank you."_

"_For what?" Booth said opening his eyes and looking down on her._

"_Taking away the pain." She glanced up at him before pushing her head into his chest more._

"_Bones, I'll always do my best to take away your pain. That's what I'm here for." He placed another kiss on the top of her head and closed his eyes again. Soon enough they were both asleep wrapped in each other._

Brennan closed her eyes as a tear fell down her face. She wished more than anything that Booth was there to take away her pain. But she wouldn't be in this much pain, had it not been for that night. Yes, Vincent's death caused her pain, but the added pain of losing Booth caused her even more heartache then she ever thought she would experience. Sweets was right. She was in love with Seeley Booth. That night when Booth asked her to take a chance, she had gotten scared. So scared of the thought of shattering their relationship and losing Booth forever that she wanted to remain just friends. He had moved on. He claimed he had to. That he couldn't wait for her anymore. And now she was being punished. She had lost him forever. All because she loved him.

"_**And some how you made me smile when I was sad  
>You took a chance on a bruised and beaten heart<br>Then you realized you wanted what you had  
>I guess I should've been more like that."<strong>_

_**More Like Her, Miranda Lambert.**_


End file.
